April 05, 2007

Theo Angelopoulos: The Unseen Europe Part 1

Theo Angelopoulos talking about his filmaking. Film featured Eternity and a Day . Only available in the UK as a VHS video.

Introduction

This posting is currently provided to give a portal to a range of the best sites on the internet concerning Greek director Theo Angelopoulos. At the time of publication it was probably the best portal on the internet for accessing further information about Angelopoulos. I have now added some YouTube extracts which enthusiasts are posting. In the UK it is currently very difficult to get much of Angelopoulos' work. Hopefully this will help to generate more of a market and provide the investment for digitisation. As I have now devised the 'hub page' system I will start to create separate pages of links on the films when time allows. (Ironic that so much of his work incorporates filmed time!)

Theo Angelopoulos

Theo Angelopoulos receiving his

honorary degree at Essex University

Assessing Angelopoulos

Andrew Horton (1997) argues that Angelopoulos has made an important impact on cinema in four ways in particular:

As an innovative film stylist

As a committed filmmaker

As an artist able to be able to transcend purely nationalistic boundaries. In doing so to "evoke the ageless, the univerasl and the mythical

These lead to a 'cinema of contemplation' (history that points to an inner journey).

Chronology

(Based upon Fainaru, Dan 2001. Theo Angelopoulos Interviews )

(Under Construction)

1935 Born in Athens April 27th into a merchant family

1940 Italy invades Greece. Mussolini's army is repulsed. Germany is forced to interverne. This puts back Operation Barbarossa (the invasion of the Soviet Union) by several valuable weeks. This probably saved Moscow and possibly Leningrad from being captured

1944 Greece is liberated from the Nazis but enters a protracted cilil war between Communist and anti-Communist forces. The feelings generated by this conflict will last for decades. During the civil war Angelopoulos' father was arrested for no apparent reason. He returned home suddenly after nine months

1959 Angelopoulos quits his law school degree nearing graduation in order to complete his military service

1961 Angelopoulos goes to Paris to study literature, filmology, and anthropology at the Sorbonne

1962 enters IDHEC (Institut des Hautes Etudes Cinematographiques). He has several disagreements with his tutors there. Attempted to shoot a medium length film called 'In Black and White'. It was never completed due to lack of funds. Negative remained at the laboratory

1963 moves from IDHEC to courses run by ethnographic filmmaker Jean Rouch at La Musee de L'Homme

1964 returns to Athens. Writes film criticism for Democratic Change

1965 works on US / Greek production of a fictional film based upon a real pop group the Formix Story. It was supposed to be a promotional film for the band's American tour. angelopoulos was replaced by the producers before completion

1967 Greece of 'The Colonels'. This military takeover led to much repression of democratic institutions. Democratic Change was closed down and strict political censorship is enforced upon all the media

1968 Angelopoulos completes the B & W short The Broadcast which took 2 years to complete. It is about a radio show looking for the "Ideal Man". It is screened and wins the Greek Critics award at the Thessaloniki Film Festival

1970Reconstruction is released. This is his first film based upon an real event which was the killing of a returned Gastarbeiter. It won several awards at the Thessaloniki film Festival including: best film, best director, best script, best actress and the critics' prize

1971 Reconstructiongains some international recognition winning the Georges Sadoul Prize in France and gaining a special mention from the International film Critics (FIPRESCI) at the Berlin Film Festival

1972 Days of '36 released. Based upon a real incident which took place in pre-World War II Greece. Wins Best Film at Thessaloniki film Festival and wins FIPRESCI award in Berlin

1974. Starts work on The Travelling Playersin January. Has to stop in May because of political events; re-starts in November finishing the film in January 1975. It is a great international success garnering awards in Thessaloniki, Cannes, and Brussels

1977. Makes The Hunters which is the first film to be produced by his own company with French and German co-producers. It is invited to the official Cannes competition. Wins a Golden Hugo in Chicago

1980. OMegalexandros (Alexander the Great [this is a problematic translation]). It combines several Greek myths and is styed in the form of a Byzantine liturgy. It is a co-production with Italy and Germany. Wins Golden Lion and Critics Award in Venice. Also wins acclaim in Thessaloniki

1981. One Village, One Villager. Documentary on the theme of the fate of Greek villages abandoned by their inhabitants. Screened by Greek Television

1982. contributes to a series of documentaries on cultural capitals. He makes Athens, Return to the Acropolis

1983. Starts shooting Voyage to Cytherain January. Had to stop for two months due to bad health. finally finished in 1984. Start of a new cycle of films which are far more personal in nature. shown in Cannes 1985 it marked the beginning of a still ongoing partnership with the Italian poet and scriptwriter Tonino Guerra and composer Eleni Kaindrou

1986. The Beekeeperis shown at the Venice Film Festival. works with Marcello Mastroianni for the first time. Mastroainni becomes a personal friend

1988. Landscape in the Mist launched at Venice Film Festival. wins the Silver Lion at Venice and selected as Best European Film of the Year by the European Film Academy. The following year if wins a Golden Hugo for best director and a Golden Plaque for best cinematography in Chicago

1991. The Suspended Step of the Stork opens in Cannes. Stars Mastroianni and Jeanne Moreau. this another cycle of work which Angelopoulos describes as existential. His concerns for the beginnings of the breakup of the Balkans and the beginnings of a disillusionment in politics in general are apparent

1995. Named Doctor Honoris Causa by the Free University in Brussels. Makes Ulysses Gazewhich uses an american lead for the first time (Harvey Keitel). shoots the film all over the Balkans incorporating past and present tragedies. It wins the Grand Prix at Cannes

1998. Eternity and a Day winsthe Golden Palm in Cannes. Becomes the president of the Thessaloniki film Festival after having had a troubled relationship with other Greek directoprs complaining that he had stolen the show from them

Georgakas, DanThe Films of Theo Angelopoulos (review)
Journal of Modern Greek Studies - Volume 18, Number 2, October 2000, pp. 468-470 (you will need to part of a subscribing library to access this article).

Webliography

This search is a selection of the best sites on a Google search to page 20.